GREEN UP Be a Greener Boater

If you’re a DIY boater, be mindful that your pre-winter cleaning and prep work may unleash harmful substances into the waterways. Even if you’re working away from the water, toxins can overflow parking lots, get into storm drains, and leach from landfills. Following these simple steps will help you become a greener boater while ushering in the offseason.

Labels saying a cleaner is green, natural, or eco-friendly means zip. Read the ingredients, avoiding ammonia, lye, phosphates, bleach, petroleum distillates, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, wouldn’t use it in your home, and/or there’s a skull and crossbones symbol, don’t buy it!
Purchase phosphate-free, biodegradable soaps wrapped in simple materials and not in extraneous plastic packaging (it’s also enviro-friendly to buy a product made locally rather than shipped from afar whenever possible).
Avoid working on your boat in high winds. Besides being frustrating, it makes it harder to contain what you don’t want to spread.
Don’t just eliminate grime by dousing the boat with a strong cleaner and hosing it off. Chemical-laden water will soak into the ground and run off into sewers or directly into nearby waters. Instead, lay a waterproof or absorbent ground covering under your boat, and tackle the dirt with elbow grease and the safest products available.
Apply cleanser directly to the area to be cleaned instead of spraying in a wider area than necessary.
Use your marina’s or boatyard’s prescribed disposal programs for antifreeze, motor oil, filters, and batteries. If there’s no disposal program in place, return the products to their original packages and bring to an automobile service center.
There are heavy metals in obsolete marine electronics and radioactive components in radar equipment. Donate working equipment to a non-profit boating organization or contact manufacturers for further disposal advice.
Expired products may still ignite. Even if the manner of disposal isn’t mandated, be considerate — don’t toss flares or toxic materials into a receptacle where they may be handled by sanitation workers or ingested by animals.
When a trash can is overflowing, don’t add more garbage of any kind. Take the time to find another receptacle.